Access code enhancement for caller preview service

ABSTRACT

By manipulating parameters of call setup messages, calls made with a caller&#39;s access code in a caller preview service may be completed to the called party of voice mail box with caller identification information displayed.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 10/348,200,filed Jan. 21, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,388,951, the entire contents ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference. This application is relatedto application Ser. No. 09/643,553, filed Aug. 22, 2000, now U.S. Pat.No. 6,442,262, which is a continuation of application Ser. No.09/253,339, filed Feb. 19, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,160,876, which is acontinuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 09/122,484, filed Jul. 24,1998, pending. These applications are all incorporated herein in theirentirety.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates generally to telecommunications services.More particularly, the present application relates to a method andsystem for providing enhanced caller identification informationincluding screening invalid calling party numbers.

Telecommunications service providers typically offer services thatattempt to provide customers with information that enables them todetermine whether or not to accept a call before answering the call. Oneservice that provides such information is caller identification (“CallerID”). Standard Caller ID services generally provide a customer with anindication of who is calling without requiring the customer to answerthe call. These systems typically retrieve information about the callingparty from a database and provide that information to the called party.Customer premise equipment (CPE) in the form of a display device isgenerally used to provide the called party with a visual readout of thename and/or telephone number associated with the calling party.

However, the effectiveness of Caller ID systems can be reduced due to anumber of different occurrences. One such occurrence is the inability ofa service provider to provide the standard Caller ID information for aparticular incoming call. A service provider may not be able to providethe standard Caller ID information if the Caller ID information isblocked by the calling party, or if the Caller ID information isunavailable or incomplete. This may occur, for example, if the callingparty pressed *67 when initiating the call.

When the standard Caller ID information cannot be provided, the calledparty is not adequately informed about who is calling and cannotdetermine whether or not to accept the incoming call before answeringthe call. Because the effectiveness of Caller ID systems is greatlyreduced when this information cannot be provided, an improved system andmethod for providing caller identification information that overcomethese deficiencies are needed.

Patent application Ser. No. 09/122,484, filed Jul. 24, 1998 isincorporated herein in its entirety. This patent application discloses aprivacy management method and system for providing a called party withaudible caller identification information when standard calleridentification cannot be provided. When standard caller identificationcannot be provided, the call is blocked and a request for audible calleridentification is transmitted to the calling party. The audibleinformation is subsequently transmitted to the called party.

Patent application Ser. No. 09/253,339, filed Feb. 19, 1999, now U.S.Pat. No. 6,160,876, is also incorporated herein in its entirety. Thisapplication discloses a privacy management method for providing enhancedcaller identification information when per line blocking of Caller ID ispresent. When per line blocking is activated for a subscriber line, theCaller ID information for that line is never transmitted by the system.

One privacy management product called Caller Preview Service has beenimplemented for telephone service subscribers. This product isimplemented in equipment of the Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN)telecommunication system. This service intercepts calls that are marked“private,” “out of area” or “unknown” on Caller ID Customer PremiseEquipment (CPE). When a call for a service subscriber but with anunidentified caller is intercepted at a network switch by the CallerPreview Service, the call is forwarded to an AIN ServiceNode/Intelligent Peripheral (SN/IP) for disposition. The SN/IP answersthe call and gives the caller the option to unblock the call, enter anaccess code or record the caller's name.

Entry of an access code serves to override the Caller Preview Service.An access code is a ten digit code provided to the caller which, whenentered by the caller, is recognized and allows the call to becompleted. The access code is typically provided by the Caller PreviewService subscriber to friends, family and other contacts to bypass oroverride the system. The subscriber may specify and provide a largenumber of access codes or may provide one or a few access codes to alarge number of people.

If the caller enters an access code, the SN/IP originates a new call tothe subscriber, ringing the subscriber's line. When the call is answeredby the subscriber or the subscriber's voice mail platform, the SN/IPwill merge the new call and the original call together. The subscriber'sCPE will display “Calling Party=Unknown” and give as the Calling Addressthe ten digit access code provided by the caller.

This embodiment has been of limited commercial success. For an accesscode call, the standard Caller ID information still cannot be provided.If the subscriber has provided an access code to a large number ofpeople, the likelihood of even being able to guess the caller's identityis reduced. The called party is not adequately informed about who iscalling and cannot determine whether or not to accept the incoming callbefore answering the call. If the called party has forwarded calls tovoice mail, the caller will receive a generic voice mail or callforwarding announcement, not the called party's customized voice mailgreeting or other announcement. If the called party has forwarded callsto another directory number (such as universal call forward, callforward on busy, or call forward-don't answer), and the other directorynumber subscribes to a privacy management service, the calling partywill have to interact with the privacy management service a second timewhen the call is terminated to the forwarded number.

Accordingly, there is a need for an improved system and method for aprivacy management system which reliably provides caller identificationinformation even for access code type calls.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a telecommunications system; and

FIGS. 2-5 form a call flow diagram illustrating a method for processinga call in the telecommunications system of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

By way of introduction, the embodiments disclosed herein may beenhancements to the previous caller preview service to allow access codecalls to display correctly on a subscriber's Customer Premise Equipmentand, if appropriate, connect to the subscriber's voice mailbox. Also, ifcalls to the subscriber's directory number are forwarded to anotherline, the caller will not have to interact with the privacy service asecond time. The voice mail interaction occurs when the subscriber hasactivated Call Forwarding Busy and Call Forwarding Don't Answer, withcalls forwarded to the subscriber's voice mail Directory Number.

The preferred embodiments below include a method and system forproviding a called party with audible caller identification informationwhen standard caller identification information cannot be provided. Inone embodiment, calls for which standard caller identificationinformation is blocked, unavailable or incomplete are prevented frombeing connected to the called party.

Referring now to the drawing, FIG. 1 is a block diagram of atelecommunications system 100. The telecommunications system 100 in theillustrated embodiment includes one or more integrated service controlpoints (ISCP) such as ISCP 102, one or more service switching points(SSP) such as SSP A 104, SSP B 106, SSP C 108 and a service node orintelligent peripheral (SN/IP) 110. These are components of the industrystandard Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN). AIN components communicateusing Signalling System 7 (SS7), Transaction Capabilities ApplicationsPart (TCAP), or Integrated System Digital Network User Part (ISDN-UP).While AIN components are particularly well suited for implementing thesystem and method of the present disclosure, other equipment may besubstituted or combined with AIN components. For example, all or aportion of the telecommunications system 100 may be implemented usingthe internet using a suitable communication protocol such as TransactionControl Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).

The ISCP 102 is an integrated system which may include a ServiceManagement System (SMS), a Data and Reports System (DRS), a programmableService Control Point (SCP), and a Service Creation Environment (SCE).The SCE is a software based terminal that may be implemented to workwith the SMS to create, modify, and load service control software (i.e.,service logic) into the database in the SCP. The SCP executessoftware-based service logic and may return call routing instructions tothe SSPs 104, 106, 108. The SMS and the DRS may be provided forcompiling calling information to be used for billing and administrativepurposes. By way of example, the ISCP may be implemented with theBellcore Integrated Service Control Point (ISCP), loaded with preferablyat least ISCP software Version 4.0, available from Bell CommunicationsResearch, Inc., of Livingston, N.J.

The ISCP 102 may be linked to an external database 116 that storesvarious routing information, such as information for translating anoriginating telephone number into the caller's geographic location oforigin. The external database 116 may include a line informationdatabase (LIDB) running preferably at least software Version LIDB 7.0,available from Bell Communications Research, Inc., of Livingston, N.J.The LIDB stores caller name information accessed by providing adirectory number. The LIDB may be accessed by the ISCP 102 or by an SSPwhich provides a TRI 188 query using the calling party identifier for acall. The external database 116 may be directly accessed by andconnected to ISCP 102 via a TCP/IP connection.

For purposes of illustration, three SSPs 104, 106, 108 are shown inFIG. 1. The actual network may be provisioned with more (or fewer) thanthe number of SSPs shown in FIG. 1. The SSPs 104, 106, 108 are switcheswhich perform at least the following functions: recognizing AIN-typecalls; launching queries to the Integrated Service Control Point (ISCP)102; and receiving commands and data from the ISCP 102 to furtherprocess and route AIN-type calls. When one of the SSPs 104, 106, 108 istriggered by an AIN-type call, the SSP formulates an AIN service requestor query and responds to call processing instructions from the networkelement in which the AIN service logic resides. The AIN service logic orcontrol software may reside in a database at the Service Control Point(SCP). The SSPs 104, 106, 108 are connected by trunked communicationlines which are used to connect and carry communication signals, e.g.,voice and/or data, from a calling party such as a calling party at acalling communication station 112 to a called party such as a calledparty at called communication station 114.

The SSPs 104, 106, 108 operate as end office switches, providingtelephone service to associated calling communication stations andcalled communication stations. The calling communication station 112 andcalled communication station 114 are conventional telephone stations.They are shown connected by local loops to their associated SSPs 104,106, respectively, but one or both of the calling station 112 and calledstation 114 may be connected to the telecommunications system 100through a private branch exchange.

In Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN) call processing, a query to acentralized database such as ISCP 102 is triggered by an AINapplication. In AIN-type call processing, an SSP is responsible foridentifying calls associated with AIN services, detecting whenconditions for AIN service involvement are met, formulating servicerequests for call processing instructions, and responding to theinstructions received. The call may be suspended at the calling party'send office or switch equipped as an SSP. The SSP may send a datamessage, via Signalling System 7 (SS7) links, to establish the callroute. AIN services are created by assigning appropriate SSP callsuspension points, known as AIN “triggers,” accessed via customer linesor telephone numbers, and accessing customer or service-specific logicin the ISCP 102.

The SSPs launching the AIN queries are preferably end office AIN SSPs,104, 106, 108. This enables the trigger for the subscriber service to beplaced against a single telephone directory number (DN) at the endoffice serving the customer and allows the DN to use trunks and otherfacilities for call routing. Thus, if an originating call encounters anAIN trigger at the end office, i.e., triggering AIN service involvement,the SSP suspends call processing, then queries the ISCP 102.

As an example, if a calling party at calling communication station 112desires to contact a called party at the called communication station114, the calling party dials the directory number (DN) for the calledcommunication station 114. In the illustrated example, the calledcommunication station 114 is assigned a DN of 847-248-2222 and thecalling communication station 112 is assigned a DN of 847-253-1111.

The calling party receives a dial tone from the end office, SSP A 104.The SSP A 104 detects the digits dialed by the calling party and routesthe call to the appropriate end office, SSP B 106, associated with thecalled communication station. For routing the call, the SSP A 104 mayreceive additional call routing instructions from elsewhere in thetelecommunications system 100.

At SSP B 106, the call encounters an AIN trigger. In this case, thetrigger is a Terminating_Attempt trigger. Upon encountering the trigger,the call is suspended and the SSP B 106 sends a Terminating_Attemptquery to the ISCP 102. The Terminating_Attempt query is a message havingpredefined data fields. Some or all of the data fields are populatedwith data defining the call. Examples of the data fields include aCalledPartyID, which in this case is the DN of the called communicationstation 114, 847-248-2222, and the CallingPartyID, which is the DN ofthe calling communication station 112, 847-253-1111.

In some cases, not all the required data is available to populate thedata message of the query. For example, if the caller identificationinformation for the calling communication station 112 can not beprovided, the CallingPartyID field will be empty or may be marked“private.” The caller identification information for the callingcommunication station 112 can not be provided if the calleridentification information is blocked, is not transmitted by the systemor is marked private. For example, if the calling party dials *67 at thecalling communication station 112 before dialing the DN of the calledcommunication station 114, the caller identification for the callingcommunication station will be blocked.

Upon receiving the query message from the AIN SSP-equipped end office,SSP B 106, the ISCP 102 executes software-based service logic programsstored in the SCP to perform subscriber functions and returns a responseto the end office, SSP B 106. The response includes call routinginstructions to forward the call to the appropriate location, such asSSP C 108. The AIN service application may be stored in an ISCP databasesuch as the ISCP 102, and accessed by a predetermined SSP query launchedfrom the triggering location such as SSP B 106.

After the ISCP 102 has collected the call data, the ISCP 102 will thenreturn control of the call, via a routing number, to the call suspendingSSP, SSP B 106 in this example, for termination. Once the subscribedservice logic has been completed, control of the originating call may bereturned to the triggering SSP. To complete the originating phone call,the ISCP service logic for this service may respond to the SSP query inone of two possible responses. The service may respond with a routingnumber in a TCAP connect message to the triggering SSP or respond with amessage to play an announcement to the caller.

The SN/IP 110 is an AIN element in communication with other componentsof the communications system 100. The SN/IP may also be implemented as aRemote Module or RM. The SN/IP 110 implements a variety of functionsunder control of an SSP or ISCP. A call may be routed to the SN/IP 110for interaction on a real time basis with a caller or called party. Forexample, a call may be routed to the SN/IP to play announcements to acaller, providing pre-recorded or text-to-speech instructions or menuoptions for the caller to select from. Further, the SN/IP 110 may beconfigured to collect data such as caller menu selection data. Forexample, the SN/IP 110 may detect dual tone, multi frequency (DTMF)keypress data from the caller. In response to this user data, the SN/IP110 can then send a message to other components of the system 100 toprovide the user input. One key advantage of use of the SN/IP 110 forthese functions is removal of this functionality from other networkequipment, such as SSP C 108. This frees up resources of the othernetwork equipment for call processing.

In the drawing, the SN/IP 110 is illustrated in conjunction with SSP C108. This is illustrative only. The SN/IP 110 may be located at anyconvenient location in the system 100 or its functionality may bedistributed over a variety of components of the network.

FIGS. 2-5 form a flow diagram illustrating one embodiment of a methodfor enhancing a caller preview service including an access code featurein a telecommunication system such as the system 100 of FIG. 1. In theexemplary embodiment of the drawing figure, a call is initiated by thecalling party at the calling communication station 112 intended for thecalled communication station 114. The called party at the calledcommunication station 114 is a subscriber to the caller preview service.

FIG. 2 illustrates operation at the end office switch, SSP B 106,associated with the called communication station 114. The method beginsat block 200. Initially, the calling communication station 112, withdirectory number (DN) 847-253-1111, goes off hook and receives a dialtone from its associated end office, SSP A 104. The calling party at thecalling communication station 112 dials *67 847-248-2222. The *67 prefixactivates per-call blocking of the caller identification information forthis calling communication station 112 for this call. The directorynumber 847-248-2222 is the DN of the called communication station 114.

In response to the received DN, the end office switch, SSP A 104,obtains call routing information for the call. The call routinginformation may come from any appropriate source in the network anddirects the SSP A 104 to route the call to SSP B 106. For routing thecall, an SS7 initial address message (IAM) is sent by SSP A 104 to SSP B106. An IAM is a message sent in the forward direction to initiateseizure of an outgoing circuit or trunk and to transmit number and otherinformation relating to routing and handling of a call. The IAM from SSPA 104 to SSP B 106 includes the DN for the called communication station114 and the DN for the calling communication station 112. However, thisDN is marked private to indicate that it should not be transmitted tothe called communication station 114. Thus, in one embodiment, the IAMincludes the following parameters:

CallingPartyID=8472531111, marked Private

CalledPartyID=8472482222

GenericName=Private

The IAM may include other data as well, depending on the particularimplementation and routing circumstances.

At block 202, the SSP B 106 receives the IAM and begins processing thecall. The SSP B 106 encounters a Terminating_Attempt Trigger and, atblock 204, launches a Terminating_Attempt query to the ISCP 102. TheTerminating_Attempt query includes the following parameters:

CallingPartyID=8472531111, marked Private

CalledPartyID=8472482222

GenericName=Private

OriginalCalledID={empty}

RedirectingPartyID={empty}

The OriginalCalledID parameter stores the directory number which was theoriginal destination for the call, regardless of any forwarding orredirection of the call. This parameter is blank or empty if the callhas not yet been redirected. The RedirectingPartyID stores the directorynumber of the last destination for the call, but is blank or empty ifthe call has not yet been redirected. In this example, the call has notyet been redirected so OriginalCalledID and RedirectingPartyID areempty. The Terminating_Attempt query may include other data and otherparameters as well.

At block 206, the terminating end office, SSP B 106, awaits receipt of aresponse from the ISCP 102. The response will be in the form of eitheran Authorize_Termination response message or a Forward_Call responsemessage, depending on signaling information provided to the ISCP 102.This message will contain call routing and processing data as determinedby the ISCP 102. At block 208, processing of this call ends at the SSP B106 when the Authorize_Termination or Forward_Call message is received.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating one example of call processing atthe ISCP 102 of FIG. 1. The exemplary method begins at block 300. Atblock 302, the ISCP 102 receives the Terminating_Attempt query from theterminating switch, SSP B 106. In this example, the Terminating_Attemptquery includes the parameters specified above. The ISCP 102 retrievesthe values for these parameters for processing the call.

At block 304, the ISCP determines if the called party or the calledcommunication station 114 is a subscriber to the caller preview service.Caller preview service is a call management feature which interceptscalls that are marked “private,” “out of area” or “unknown” on calleridentification Customer Premise Equipment (CPE). When calls fromunidentified callers are intercepted by the service, the call isautomatically answered and the caller is given the option to unblock thecall, enter an access code or record a spoken name. If the caller entersan access code, a new call is originated to the called party, to bemerged with the initial call from the calling party. In someimplementations, this service is provided only to subscribers who electthe service or who pay for it.

To determine if the called communication station is a subscriber, theISCP 102 consults stored subscription data. For example, the ISCPdatabase 116 may store information about service provisioning. The ISCP102 queries this database by passing the DN of the called communicationstation 114, 847-248-2222. The database 116 returns the subscriptioninformation for the called communication station.

Also, in the illustrated embodiment, the database 116 stores informationfor use during processing of access code calls. One example is the nameinformation associated with directory numbers, stored in a name andnumber database. The ISCP 102 will return the number and its associatedinformation. In other embodiments, this information may be stored inother locations or accessed in other manners.

If the called communication station 114 is not a subscriber to thecaller preview service, the call is processed normally, block 306. TheISCP 102 returns an Authorize_Termination message with no displayinformation. Otherwise, control proceeds to block 308 for further callprocessing.

The next steps are used to further determine if the call is a call to beprocessed by the Caller Preview service or if the caller is anidentified caller. More particularly, the SCP determines if the call isan access code call. At block 308, it is determined if theCallingPartyID parameter of the Terminating_Attempt query is blocked,unavailable or otherwise can not be provided. If not, and theCallingPartyID parameter can be provided, call processing continuesnormally at block 306. In normal processing, the Caller ID informationfor the call will be provided to the called party, his voice mailbox ora third party telephone number to which calls are forwarded.

If at block 308, the CallingPartyID parameter can not be provided, atblock 310, one or more specified parameters of the Terminating_Attemptquery are tested to identify an access code call. Access code calls areidentified so that they may be presented to the Caller Preview Servicesubscriber. If the specified parameters do not indicate an access code(no match), the call will be forwarded to the SN/IP for processing tothe customer. In the embodiment illustrated in the drawing, twoparameters of the Terminating_Attempt query are compared. As will bediscussed in greater detail below, the specified query parameters areset in a predetermined manner at the SN/IP 110 during call processing toindicate to the ISCP 102 that the call is an access code call. Anydesired parameters can be used, and any predetermined relationship canbe specified to be tested and recognized at the ISCP 102. In theillustrated example, the ISCP 102 tests the value of two parameters ofthe Terminating_Attempt query, the CalledPartyID parameter and theOriginalCalledPartyID parameter. In particular, the ISCP 102 tests todetermine if these parameters are set to equal values. The actual valueof the selected parameters is not significant, although in this example,the CalledPartyID is used to route the call to the called communicationstation 114. Similarly, equivalent parameter values are not required.For example, in another embodiment, the OriginalCalledPartyID could beincremented by one number relative to the CalledPartyID, with the ISCP102 testing that relationship in block 310.

If the specified parameters of the Terminating_Attempt query do not havethe required value or relationship indicating an access code call, atblock 312 the ISCP generates a Forward_Call response message whichdirects the SSP B 106 to forward the call to the SN/IP 110 or otherappropriate network equipment to further process the call. Amongparameters stored in the Forward_Call response message is the parameterCalledPartyID. The ISCP 102 sets this parameter to the directory numberof the SN/IP or other equipment to handle the call. Other parameters mayalso be set to desired or required values for subsequent processing. Themethod ends at block 316.

Otherwise, the call has been identified at the ISCP as an access codecall. At block 314, the ISCP returns an Authorize_Termination responseto the Terminating_Attempt query. The Authorize_Termination response isset with parameters to control subsequent processing of the access codecall. In the illustrated embodiment, the ISCP responds with thefollowing parameters:

CallingPartyID=8477279999, allowed

DISPLAYTEXT

-   -   CallingPartyName=AccessCode    -   CallingAddress=10 digit access code    -   Date and Time of Day

If switch based call forwarding is active and a new access code call isforwarded, the new calling party ID, with privacy indicator set to“allowed,” is used to allow proper processing of the access code callwithout requiring the calling party to interact again with privacymanagement service. In accordance with one embodiment, one directorynumber in the calling region is assigned in the line informationdatabase (LIDB) with its associated name value set to “Access Code.” Inthe illustrated example, this assigned access code DN is 8477279999 andmay be referred to as the access code directory number. The ISCP returnsthis value in the Authorize_Termination response message when thecalling party has entered a legitimate 10 digit access code. DISPLAYTEXTis data defining text to be displayed on the called party's customerpremise equipment (CPE). The DISPLAYTEXT will be used to identify thecall to the true caller preview service customer.

The service logic associates the CallingPartyID parameter with accesscode calls. In this case, having recognized during execution of blocks304, 308, 310, that an access code call is being processed, the ISCP 102formats an Authorize_Termination response message with the DN for accesscode calls. In this example, this is indicated by the designated accesscode directory number 847-727-9999. With the Display Text parameter setin the response, when the call is completed to the subscriber's CPE, theCPE will display the textual information conveyed in the message. Theservice logic associates the CallingPartyID and the Displaytextparameters with an access code call. This includes the name informationin the CallingPartyName parameter (“Access Code”) to signal that anaccess code call has been received, and the access code entered by thecaller. Using the CallingPartyID field in this manner allows the call tobe processed properly even when the called party has set call forwardingto another directory number, as will be described in greater detailbelow in conjunction with FIG. 5. Moreover, the call will be completedwithout the calling party having to be prompted again for entry of theaccess code. The method ends at block 316.

The Forward_Call response or the Authorize_Termination response istransmitted to SSP B 106. In the case of a Forward_Call response, theSSP B 106 responds to the message and forwards the call to the SSP C 108and the SN/IP 110. This destination is determined by the CalledPartyIDparameter, set equal to the DN of the SN/IP by the ISCP (block 312).

SSP B 106 responds to the Forward_Call message by preparing an JAM forcommunication to the SSP C 108. In one embodiment, the parameters of theIAM include the following:

CallingPartyID=8472531111, marked private

CalledPartyID=directory number of the SN/IP

OriginalCalledID=8472482222

Thus, the IAM retains the calling line identifier of the callingcommunication station and its designation as private. The CalledPartyIDparameter indicates the SN/IP SSP C 108 as the destination for the call.The parameter OriginalCalledID indicates that the directory numberoriginally intended as the destination for the call is the DN of thecalled communication station 114. Other parameters may be included inthe IAM as well. The initial address message is forwarded to the SSP C.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating one example of call processing atthe SSP C 108 and the SN/IP 110. The exemplary method begins at block400.

At block 402, the call is received at the SSP C 108 from SSP B 106. TheSSP C 108 receives an initial address message (IAM) from the SSP B 106.For communication with the SN/IP, the SSP C 108 converts the SS7 IAM toa primary rate interface (PRI) setup message. The parameters of the PRIsetup message are as follows:

CallingPartyID=8472531111, marked private

CalledPartyID=directory number of the SN/IP

RedirectingElement1=8472482222

At block 404, the SN/IP answers the call and plays an announcement tothe calling party. The message may be provided by playing a prerecordedmessage, by doing a text to speech conversion, or by any other method.In one embodiment, at block 406 the caller preview service is announcedand at block 408 call disposition options are provided. The callingparty is prompted to temporarily unblock the caller's calling lineidentification by pressing 0 on the calling communication station 112,to enter an access code after pressing 1 or to record the caller's namefor playback to the called party after pressing 2. Playing messages to acaller and collecting caller input are well within the capabilities of aconventional service node or intelligent peripheral such as SN/IP 110.Other types or combinations of menu options or specific menu choices maybe provided.

At block 410, the option selection entered by the caller is received. Inthe preferred embodiment, the caller presses one or more keypad keys toenter a selection. The keypresses generate audible DTMF codes which aredetected by the SN/IP and converted to data. At block 412, the receivedoption selection is analyzed. If the selection does not correspond toentry of an access code (a 1 keypress in the example above), at block414 the call is processed according to the selection.

However, if the selection corresponds to the caller's option to enter anaccess code, at block 416 the caller is prompted to enter the accesscode. A recording may be played by the SN/IP or a text to speech processmay cause the prompt to be played. The SN/IP then detects DTMF entriesfrom the calling communication station. The DTMF codes are detected andconverted to data. At this time, the access code may be checked forvalidity. In the illustrated embodiment, the entered access code is aten digit value 999999999.

At block 418, after receiving the caller's access code, the SN/IPinitiates a new call to the called communication station to present theaccess code to the called party. For this call, a primary rate interface(PRI) setup message is established. Specified query parameters are setin the PRI setup message in a predetermined manner at the SN/IP 110during call processing to indicate to the ISCP 102 that the call is anaccess code call. Any desired parameters can be used, and anypredetermined relationship can be specified to be tested and recognizedat the ISCP 102. In the illustrated example, two specified parameters ofthe message are set equal. The PRI setup message is established with thefollowing parameters:

CallingPartyID=the 10 digit access code (9999999999), marked private

CalledPartyID=8472482222

RedirectingElement1=8472482222

This message format is exemplary. Other parameters, such asRedirectingElement2, could be used in the PRI setup message.

Thus, the status of the call as an access code call, along with therelevant calling information, is encoded in the call setup message. Therelevant calling information includes the identity of the called partyand the access code. Here, the nature of the call as an access code callis indicated by marking the CallingPartyID private and setting theRedirectingElement1 equal to the CalledPartyID. Any set of parameterscan be chosen, and any matching relation can be specified so long asother equipment of the network uses the same definition when decodingthe call processing message. The PRI setup message is passed to the SSPC 108.

In response to the PRI setup message, the SSP C 108 generates an initialaddress message to forward the call to the SSP B 106 for termination tothe called communication station, as set by the CalledPartyID parameterof the PRI setup message. In the exemplary embodiment, the SSP C 108generates an IAM with the following parameters:

CallingPartyID=Access Code (9999999999), marked private

CalledPartyID=8472482222

OriginalCalledParty=8472482222

Thus, the SSP C 108 converts the PR setup message from the SN/IP to anSS7 IAM in which the CalledPartyID and the OriginalCalledPartyID are setequal. The initial address message may include other parameters as well,or these parameters may be modified while retaining the samefunctionality. When the SSP C 108 converts the PRI setup message to anSS7 IAM to be sent to SSP B, 106, the GenericName parameter is notincluded. This is because the SN/IP is setting the privacy bit againstthe CallingPartyID instead of including *67. Since *67 is not included,the SSP C blocking software is escaped. The IAM is communicated from theSSP C 108 to the SSP B 106. The method at the SN/IP 110 ends, block 420.

When the call is processed at the SSP B 106, a Terminating_Attempttrigger is encountered. The SSP B recognizes the trigger and generates aTerminating_Attempt query to the ISCP 102. This query includes thefollowing parameters:

CallingPartyID=Access Code (9999999999), marked private

CalledPartyID=8472482222

OriginalCalledParty=8472482222

This query is processed at the ISCP according to the exemplaryembodiment of FIG. 3. This time at the ISCP 102, the Terminating_Attemptquery is received, block 302. If the CalledPartyID corresponds to aservice subscriber, block 304, then at block 308 the message parametersare tested to determine if the CallingPartyID is marked private. In thequery above, this is true, so at block 310, the ISCP tests if theCalledPartyID is equal to the OriginalCalledPartyID of theTerminating_Attempt query. This time, after processing the access codecall at the SN/IP and SSP C, these parameters are equal.

As a result, the ISCP generates an Authorize_Termination message for theSSP B 106. The parameters of this message are as follows:

CallingPartyID=8477279999, marked allowed

DISPLAYTEXT

-   -   CallingPartyName=AccessCode    -   CallingAddress=10 digit access code    -   Date and Time of Day

The message is received at the SSP B 106. If the called communicationstation 114 is idle and call forwarding all calls is not active, SSP Bwill complete or terminate the call (to station 114). The Display Textinformation returned in the Authorize_Termination message will beprovided to the called communication station 114 between the first andsecond ring tones.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating call processing in the system ofFIG. 1 when the Access Code Authorize_Termination message is received atSSP B, instructing SSP B to attempt to complete the call to calledcommunication station 114. The method begins at block 500.

In the embodiment of FIG. 5, at block 502 the SSP B 106 (FIG. 1)receives an Authorize_Termination message from the ISCP 102. In responseto the received Authorize_Termination message, the SSP B 106 willattempt to complete the call.

At block 504, the SSP B 106 determines if the called party has activatedcall forward universal (CFU), in which all calls are forwarded to aspecified directory number or forwarded DN. The forwarded DN may beanother subscriber's telephone or may be a voice mail number. If CFU isactivated, control proceeds to block 522. Otherwise, at block 506, theSSP B 106 determines if the called communication station is idle. Thestation is idle if it is not off hook or otherwise engaged in a call. Ifnot, at block 508, the SSP B 106 determines if the called communicationstation has call forward on busy provisioned. If so, calls will beforwarded when the called communication station is busy and controlproceeds to block 522. If the called communication station does not havecall forward on busy provisioned then at block 510 the SSP B 106terminates the call to a busy tone. The calling party (i.e., SN/IP 110)hears a busy tone, indicating that the called communication station isengaged in a call.

If, at block 506, the called communication station is idle, at block 512the SSP B 106 rings the called communication station and provides theDisplaytext parameters. The Display Text is provided to the calledcommunication station 114 in the conventional manner, between the firstand second ring tones. If the called party has suitable customerpremises equipment (CPE), the Display Text is provided on the CPEdisplay.

At block 514, the SSP B 106 determines if the called communicationstation is answered. This may be done, for example, by setting a timerwhen ringing is initiated at block 512 and, upon expiration of a periodsuch as 24 or 30 seconds on the timer, determining the call is notanswered. If the call is answered, the SSP B 106 completes the called tothe called communication station, block 516. The method ends at block520.

Otherwise, at block 518, the SSP B 106 determines if the calledcommunication station is provisioned with call forward on no answer. Inthis service, if calls are not answered within the time set by thetimer, calls are automatically forwarded to a specified number. If thecalled communication station is not provisioned with this service, theSSP B 106 continues ringing the called communication station, block 512,until the call is answered or the calling party (i.e. SN/IP 110)terminates the call. If the called communication station is provisionedwith call forward on no answer service, control transfers to block 522.

In the exemplary embodiment, all forwarded calls are processed beginningat block 522. If any of the call forwarding options is set, SSP B 106does not determine if the call is forwarded to the called party's voicemail box or to another customer directory number. Rather, SSP B 106forwards the call and the forwarded destination is determined on theforwarded directory number.

At block 522, SSP B 106 sends an initial address message to the SSP thatis associated with the forwarded DN, 847-438-3333 in this example. Inone embodiment, the parameters for the IAM sent by SSP B include thefollowing:

CallingPartyID=8477279999, marked allowed

CalledPartyID=8474383333

OriginalCalledID=8472482222

RedirectingPartyID=8472482222

The forwarded SSP determines if the call is being routed to voice mailor to another customer, block 524. If the call is being forwarded tovoice mail, at block 526, the forwarded SSP associated with DN8474383333 processes the IAM and terminates the call to the voice mailbox associated with the original called communication station because ofthe OriginalCalledID parameter. The calling party hears the voice mailgreeting, if any, set by the called party, rather than a generic voicemail greeting.

For a call being forwarded to another customer's directory number, ifthe call is an access code call, the call completes to the forwarded DN,block 528. If the customer associated with DN 847438-3333 has theprivacy management service or other caller identification service, thecall will not be interrupted because the CallingPartyID parameter haspresentation allowed. A TR1188 query will be sent to the LineInformation Database (LIDB) to retrieve the caller name for theCallingPartyID. Since this directory number (8477279999) has previouslybeen established as specific to access code calls, the TRI 188 querywill return CNAME=“Access Code.”

This call then completes to directory number 847 438 3333. Thecustomer's CPE displays the following text from the Display Textparameter: “Name=Access Code,” “number=847 727 9999,” and the date andtime.

Thus, the caller, who entered the access code in response to the promptfrom the call management service, does not have to interact with theservice a second time. The parameters of the messages associated withthe call are adjusted and tested at the AIN components to ensure thatthe call is completed properly and will all the necessary information.

It is to be noted that the methods and apparatus described herein may beembodied as one or more computer readable program codes and stored on acomputer readable medium such as a magnetic disk or and optical medium.Further, the computer readable program code may be embodied as anelectrical signal communicated by wireline or wirelessly and encodingthe computer readable program code. The program code may be configuredto operate in conjunction with any of the devices described herein, suchas the ISCP, one or more SSPs or SN/IP, any combination or theequivalent thereof.

From the foregoing, it can be seen that the present embodiments providemethod and apparatus for processing an access code call in a callerpreview service. When the SN/IP originates a new call to the callerpreview subscriber, the call setup message indicates that the callingparty entered an access code. The service logic uniquely configures thesetup message that is passed over the primary rate interface (i.e.,trunk group) to the service switching point. The messages separatelyidentify at the ISCP incoming presentation restriction access code callsfrom the SN/IP. This allows these calls to receive different treatmentat the ISCP from other presentation restricted calls. For example, theaccess code calls are allowed to complete and display the access codename, while other presentation restricted calls are handled by thecaller preview service logic and forwarded to the SN/IP for processing.If the call is busy or unanswered, the access code call will still becorrectly routed to the called party's voice mail box.

It is to be understood that a wide range of changes and modifications tothe embodiments described above will be apparent to those skilled in theart and are contemplated. It is therefore intended that the foregoingdetailed description be regarded as illustrative rather than limiting,and that it be understood that it is the following claims, including allequivalents, that are intended to define the spirit and scope of theinvention.

1. A method of processing a blocked call, the method comprising:identifying a call that does not include calling line information as aprivacy management service call; providing the identified privacymanagement service call to a network device for processing; receiving,at the network device, access code provided by a calling party at acalling communication station; in response to receiving the access codeinitiating a new call to a called party with two call parameters havinga predetermined matching relationship, wherein initiating the new callincludes setting a calling party identifier parameter equal to theaccess code, setting a called party identifier parameter equal to adirectory number of a called communication station; and setting one ofthe two call parameters equal to the directory number of the calledcommunication station; and comparing the called party identifierparameter and one of the two call parameters; and completing the newcall to the called communication station with calling party informationidentifying the calling party based at least in part on the receivedaccess code when the called party identifier parameter and one of thetwo call parameters match.
 2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:prompting the calling party to dial the access code; detecting theaccess code entered by the calling party; and validating the accesscode.
 3. The method of claim 1 further comprising: prompting the callingparty to provide an audible access code for the access information;detecting the audible access code entered by the calling party; andvalidating the audible access code.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein thecalling party information is configured to produce a calling partyindication at Customer Premise Equipment associated with the calledcommunication station.
 5. A call processing method in atelecommunication system, the call processing method comprising:receiving a call from a calling party at a network device, wherein thecall does not include calling line information; interrupting the call inresponse to the lack of calling line information; providing calldisposition options to the calling party; receiving access code from thecalling party; in response to receiving the access code initiating a newcall to a called communication station, the new call including aplurality of call parameters; wherein one of the call parametersincludes the access code configured for presentation at a CustomerPremise Equipment; wherein; two; of the call parameters define apredetermined relationship recognizable by the network device toindicate the new call as an access code call; prompting the callingparty to dial the access code; detecting the access code entered by thecalling party; and validating the access code; wherein initiating thenew call comprises: generating a primary rate interface setup messageincluding setting a calling party identifier of the primary rateinterface setup message to the access code, setting a called partyidentifier of the primary rate interface setup message to a directorynumber of the called communication station; and setting another callparameter of the primary rate interface setup message to the directorynumber of the called communication station.
 6. The method of claim 5further comprising: marking the calling party identifier private.